Cops shoot unarmed man

CHICAGO - A Texas grand jury handed down a murder indictment Friday against a former white police officer who shot dead an unarmed black man in his apartment, which she allegedly mistook for her own. Dallas police officer Amber Guyger told investigators she mistakenly walked into 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean's apartment, one floor above her own, when she returned home from work on the evening of September 6. She fired 2 shots after seeing a silhouette of a figure who didn't respond to verbal commands, police said. The 30-year-old initially was charged with manslaughter and later fired from the police force. Authorities said more charges were likely after an investigation was completed. A grand jury returned a first-degree murder charge which is punishable under Texas law by up to life in prison. A trial is likely a year away at the earliest, Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said. Relatives of Jean -- an immigrant from the Caribbean nation of … [Read more...] about News
Former US cop charged with murder in wrong apartment shooting

By Shree Paradkar Race & Gender Columnist Wed., June 27, 2018 In the middle of the night of Feb. 4, 2016, when Peter Khill, a Hamilton-area man, heard a noise in his driveway, he thought someone was stealing his vehicle. So Khill loaded his shotgun and went out to confront the thief. Pause here for a second. What would you do? Call the cops? I would. I have, in a similar situation, done exactly that. It ended with nothing resolved. But no deaths, no loss, either. Khill, however, is a trained ex-army reservist and likely made of sterner stuff than I. So the 28-year-old went out to his driveway where, he testified, he saw a man leaning over the passenger-side seat of his vehicle. Then, he told police, he shouted, “Hey! Hands up!” The stranger turned around very quickly and his hands “went out.” “It was so dark, but from what I could see in the darkness there seemed to be some kind of weapon. ... Right there I felt … [Read more...] about Echoes of Colten Boushie verdict as Hamilton-area man acquitted in shooting death of unarmed Indigenous man

By Helena Oliviero The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Fri., June 15, 2018 ATLANTA—Michael Brown, Eric Garner, 12-year-old Tamir Rice. As a series of high-profile killings of Black men and boys by police officers shook the country, Atlanta child psychologists and longtime colleagues Dr. Marietta Collins, Dr. Marianne Celano and Dr. Ann Hazzard wanted to do something to spark conversations about racial injustice, counter negative stereotypes and encourage young people to embrace people of all races, cultures and backgrounds. Collins, Celano and Hazzard decided to write a children’s book that tackles not only police shootings but systematic racism going back centuries. The trio, who met more than 25 years ago as faculty members at Emory University School of Medicine, started penning a book titled Something Happened in Our Town about two years ago. The book features two families — a white family and a Black family — as they both discuss a police … [Read more...] about Children’s book addresses police shootings of unarmed black men

By Betsy Powell Court Reporter Mon., April 23, 2018 Dramatic images of the tense standoff between officers and the van rampage suspect being seen by a worldwide audience are earning Toronto police kudos for their restraint and professionalism. The bystander footage shows a man standing near a white van stopped on a sidewalk, with his outstretched arm pointing a dark object at an officer out in the street. A man’s voice can be heard telling the officer to “kill me” and “shoot me in the head.” “I have a gun in my pocket,” he yells, and is ordered to “get down or you’ll be shot.” An officer is captured arresting the suspect, near Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. No shots were fired. “Grateful for the brave and professional response of Toronto police and other first responders to the horrific attack at Yonge and Finch,” Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale tweeted. Article … [Read more...] about ‘Cop deserves a medal’: Cool response from Toronto officer at tense standoff wins praise

SACRAMENTO: Hundreds of mourners joined an outpouring of grief and rage Thursday at the funeral of an unarmed black man shot dead by police in California's capital Sacramento. The service, where civil rights activist Al Sharpton delivered an angry, rousing speech, became a rallying point for people demanding justice in the face of police violence against African Americans. Body camera and surveillance helicopter footage released last week showed police chasing and then firing 20 rounds at 22-year-old Stephon Clark, fearing that he was carrying a weapon. He was actually holding an iPhone. An uproar following the March 18 incident erupted into days of protest in the streets of downtown Sacramento, with marchers blocking traffic and clashing with police in riot gear. A rabbi sang at the Bayside Boss Church in southern Sacramento, not far from the neighborhood where Clark died, while Muslim cleric Zaid Shakir led prayers at the ecumenical service. "We're tired of seeing our people die. … [Read more...] about Grief and rage at funeral for police shooting victim in Sacramento